People with mental and physical illnesses are getting $60 million in aid through the creation of a “medical psychiatry alliance” that will focus on better ways to deliver comprehensive health care.

The money is coming from Ontario taxpayers, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, the Hospital for Sick Children, Trillium Health Partners, the University of Toronto and a private donor who wishes to remain anonymous.

“Mental illness is often hidden within the symptoms of physical disorders, with treatment focusing on physical illness while the mental illness remains undiagnosed and untreated,” Health Minister Deb Matthews said Tuesday at CAMH.

“For some reason we separated the mind from the body . . . if they're not treated together, we just don't provide the highest quality care.”

Dr. Michael Apkon, chief executive at the Hospital for Sick Children, called this problem a “major gap” in the health care system, and noted that mental symptoms too frequently “confound” diagnosis of physical illnesses.

The alliance will develop new screening and diagnostic tools so that mental and physical symptoms can be properly identified and treated, devise specialized clinical training for medical students on mental and physical symptoms occurring at the same time, and research and test new ways to deliver psychiatric care at home.

The university and Trillium, a teaching hospital, will be key in knitting the research together and helping extend it to medical professionals across the province.

On average the lives of people with serious mental illnesses are 20 years shorter than others, with the mentally ill more often succumbing to unrecognized or poorly managed diabetes, heart disease and cancer than the rest of the population, said Dr. Catherine Zahn, chief executive of CAMH.

The initiative will create “a new kind of health care,” Trillium president Michelle DiEmanuele told several dozen people gathered for the announcement.

For example, a child repeatedly brought to the emergency ward with a sore stomach with tests proving negative could well be suffering from an anxiety disorder, or an adult with a suspected heart attack could be having a panic attack, she said.

“We need to think differently, we need to act differently.”

The financial contributions are $20 million from Ontario, a total of $20 million from the hospitals and U of T, and $20 million from the anonymous donor who was credited for the idea to kick-start the initiative.

The U of T will integrate lessons learned from the research into its medical school, said president Meric Gertier.